Manufacturers bristle at concept of taxing robots

By MiBiz

Mar 20, 2018

The shift to a more automated future in which manufacturers need fewer workers to churn out products has the potential to upend how industrialized countries operate.

In bracing for the potential loss of jobs and income tax revenues, some worker advocates and philanthropists have started to float the idea that machines should be taxed as a way to ensure governments can continue to function and provide a social safety net for their citizens, including those displaced by automation equipment.

As political uncertainty bites, almost two-thirds of process manufacturers (62%) say regulatory changes are affecting their business, with more than four-in-five (82%) revealing the threat of import-export shake-ups having significant impact on strategic decision-making.

While robotics, AS/RS systems, AGVs and warehouse management systems have taken industrial facilities into the 21st century, many loading dock operations still use manual labor and 20th century technologies and practices.